CITY OF FORT PIERCE: S.H.I.P ANNOUNCEMENT OF FUNDING

The City of Fort Pierce Grants Division has allocated $300,000 for programs through the State Housing Initiative Partnership (S.H.I.P.).

 

Applications will be accepted on a First-Come, First-Qualified basis. Priority will be given to household income limits based on the 2021 H.U.D. income chart.

Rapid Rehousing- Opens April 4, 2022, and closes April 30, 2022. Rapid Rehousing is designed to assist individuals and families with Rental security deposits, Utility security deposits, up to 1 year of rental assistance (if needed). Households must be identified and referred through social service agencies. Social Service Agencies must contact the Grants Division to refer the household and send the intake form.

Purchase Assistance – Opens May 2, 2022, and closes May 31, 2022. The City of Fort Pierce may provide purchase assistance funding for the purchase of a home within the City limits by providing down payment and/or closing costs for eligible first-time homebuyers.

Housing Rehabilitation – Opens May 2, 2022 and closes May 31, 2022. This program provides owner-occupied housing repair/rehabilitation funding for the upgrading of substandard, owner-occupied housing units and housing code violations.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Contact: Brittany Marinello

772-467-3161

grantsadministration@cityoffortpierce.com

Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

City Hall, Grants Administration Division

Source: City of Fort Pierce

It's Weekend O'Clock

St. Patrick’s Day Festival

The annual St. Patrick’s Day Festival features arts & crafts vendors, children’s activities, youth performances, a carnival, and live music. The event will be held in the Village Square of the MIDFLORIDA Event Center, corner of US 1 & Walton Rd.

Event dates and times

• Friday, March 11 from 5 to 10 p.m.


• Saturday, March 12, 2022 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

 

TRADITION NEIGHBORHOOD MARKET

Enjoy the Tradition Neighborhood Market, every Saturday from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM at The Landing at Tradition.

For more information, please call 772-828-0188.

 

Downtown Fort Pierce Farmer’s Market

The Fort Pierce Farmer’s Market is located along the Indian River Lagoon in Historic Downtown Fort Pierce every Saturday from 8am until noon. It’s a tradition for residents and tourists alike with live entertainment & delicious food options!

 

Treasure Coast Park & Watch: Drive-In Movies

Treasure Coast Park and Watch is Fort Pierce’s newest outdoor cinema where the entire family can enjoy a night out from the comfort and safety of their vehicle. Open every Friday and Saturday night!

 

Folk Jam and Song Circle

Enjoy the wonder of old-fashioned porch music right here at Savannas Preserve State Park! Pull up a chair and listen, or bring an instrument and join in the jam. The song circle will take place outside under a pavilion near the Education Center. Feel free to bring your own chair but seating is available. This program is free with paid park admission of $3 per vehicle (with up to 8 people). Admission can be paid via 3 different methods: 1) in person with exact cash 2) on-site using your phone, the posted QR Code and a credit card or 3) prior to arrival online by visiting https://reserve.floridastateparks.org/Web/Memberships/CustomerMembershipPasses.aspx . A porta-potty is available for use. No registration required. The Savannas Preserve State Park is located at 2541 SE Walton Road, Port St Lucie.

 

What’s the Most Durable Flooring?

Hardwood floors have long been the most beloved flooring type in real estate. But they may not be the best choice for high-traffic areas in a home, according to a new Consumer Reports analysis. Hardwoods are prone to scratching and they can show a lot of wear and tear, testers there say.

Instead, in areas of the home that see a lot of traffic, such as family rooms, kitchens, halls, and mudrooms, wood-look porcelain tile is the best option, according to Consumer Reports’ tests. This is a relatively newer type of flooring.

“Tile is the highest-rated flooring among the categories we test,” says Enrique de Paz, who leads flooring testing at Consumer Reports. “It doesn’t wear out, scratch, or stain. Its color doesn’t fade, it’s waterproof, and it is surprisingly slip-resistant, even when wet. Porcelain tile is the best choice for bathrooms, mudrooms, laundry rooms—and probably kitchens.”

In kitchens, de Paz warns, tiles can crack, if something heavy is dropped on them.

Vinyl Flooring Is Stealing the Spotlight

3 Popular Types of Hardwood Floors

How to Choose the Right Stain for Hardwood Floors

But tile options beat out hardwood flooring, which showed wear and tear more than other flooring types tested in busier areas of the house, the study notes. Laminate and vinyl products often performed better than hardwood flooring too. The report notes that “you can get both durability and good looks from many types of flooring, including engineered wood, laminate, porcelain tile, and vinyl.”

Still, hardwood flooring is often a favorite of homeowners and could add value to a home.

View the analysis at Consumer Reports of the different flooring types.

 

Source: “Most Durable Flooring for High-Traffic Areas,” Consumer Reports (March 1, 2022) and “Best Flooring for Your Kitchen, Bathroom, Mudroom, Family Room, and More,” Consumer Reports (March 1, 2022)

Home Prices Set Records Ahead of Spring Buying

Spring may have sprung early in the housing market. The U.S. median list price set a record high of $392,000 in February, according to realtor.com®’s Monthly Housing Trends Report. Many markets continued to post double-digit annual price gains, led by Las Vegas, Miami, and Tampa, Fla., with annual increases of at least 31% each.

“Over the last five years, we have seen home prices break records early in the season as buyers try to get ahead of the competition,” says Danielle Hale, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “But this is the first time the record has been broken in February, signaling that competition is already heating up weeks before the start of the spring buying season in a typical year.”

The number of homes for sale remains at record lows. But home buyer demand remains high and home prices are surging as a result of competition for low housing inventories. Hale says a slight improvement has been made on the inventory front: February saw declines in new listings improve for the first time since November 2021. “Whether inventory continues to improve will depend on a variety of economic and geopolitical factors, including the conflict in Ukraine and mortgage rate hikes, which haven’t impacted home sales or price growth so far, but will increasingly lessen buyers’ purchasing power,” she says.

 

Source: realtor.com®

Updated Flood Preparedness Toolkit Now Available

Congress passed a continuing resolution this week to fund the government and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through March 11 while lawmakers negotiate a longer-term funding deal.

With flooding being the most common and costly natural disaster in the United States, REALTORS® play an important role as an information resource regarding flood preparedness for current and potential homeowners.

NAR recently worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to update the comprehensive flood-preparedness toolkit for real estate professionals and lenders.

The kit contains shareable brochures, postcards, and fact sheets on the requirements and important financial protections provided by flood insurance. Topics include:

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    • Flood Insurance for Homeowners: What’s Covered?
    
    
    • Flood Insurance for Real Estate Professionals: Questions and Answers
    
    
    • Why Do I Need Flood Insurance?
    
    
    • Documenting and Insuring Your Property
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

 

Many of these resources are available in both English and Spanish.

The kit also includes webinars, online tools, and videos to help REALTORS® increase their understanding of the NFIP and ensure homeowners have the coverage they need.

In fall 2021, NAR created an additional member toolkit on Risk Rating 2.0: Equity in Action, the new pricing methodology for the NFIP. Risk Rating 2.0 updates FEMA’s 50-year-old rating system to price each home individually—rather than by flood zone—and do so more accurately using modern insurance industry technologies, standards, and science.

NAR collaborated directly with FEMA for nearly a decade in the development of this new methodology. FEMA began implementing Risk Rating 2.0 in October 2021 for new policies. It will take effect for renewals of existing policies starting April 1.

ST. LUCIE HOUSING MARKET STARTS THE YEAR WITH A BANG

Just in! January 2022 released from Florida Realtors® detailing recent real estate activity in St. Lucie County. The reports compare year-over-year data. Here are statistics on single family homes.

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“Realtors® have started the new year with a bang in St. Lucie County. We’re already seeing signs that 2022 is going to be a consecutive year of huge gains when it comes to median sale price. In January, median sale price increased 30 percent year-over-year to $351,000. Meanwhile, median days on market dropped to a miniscule 13 days. Homes continue to fly off the market almost as soon as they are listed. St. Lucie County is hot, and everyone wants to invest in our housing market,” said Carlos A. Melendez, President of Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors®.

Days on market is a measure of the length of the home selling process calculated for sales which closed during the month. Specifically, it measures the number of days between the initial listing for a property and the signing of the contract which eventually led to the closing of the sale.

“As northerners get through the dog days of winter, I anticipate that they will continue to seek refuge from the cold weather and explore real estate opportunities in our warm and sunny climate. It will be interesting to follow the market trends over the next couple of months and see how it compares to the success we saw in the winter of 2021. Sellers should be ready for a busy season ahead and expect to see the median sale price continue to climb,” continues Melendez.

Median sale price is our preferred summary statistic for price activity, because unlike average sale price, median sale price is not sensitive to high sale prices for small numbers of homes that may not be characteristic of the market area.

January Market Reports: Single Family (Opens as PDF.) | Townhouses/Condos

What's Happening this Weekend on the Treasure Coast

Cirque Ma’Ceo

Date: Friday March 4, 2022 through Sunday March 6, 2022.

Time: 12:00 am

Location: Martin County Fairgrounds

Address: 2616 SE Dixie Hwy, Stuart, FL 34996

Price: $20-$50

Category: Entertainment

Cirque Ma’Ceo is a revolutionary theatrical experience like no other. Featuring a variety of exotic horse Breeds and talented performers from around the world, Cirque Ma’Ceo is a show that will take your breath away. With a contemporary blend of acrobatics, aerial dance, and equestrian arts, this show is perfect for the entire family.

https://events.cirquemaceotickets.com

 

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Immersion Campus Tour

Date: Tuesday March 1, 2022 through Saturday March 5, 2022.

Time: 10:00 am – 12:30 pm

Location: FAU Harbor Branch

Address: 5600 N US Highway 1, Fort Pierce FL 34946

Price: $20/ person

Category: Educational

FAU Harbor Branch welcomes you to go behind the scenes with one of our outreach scientists to learn more about the research being conducted by the Institute. During this 1.5-hour golf-cart tour, participants will explore our 144-acre waterfront campus, learn about our history, hear highlights of the cutting-edge research being conducted by our marine scientists and engineers, and discover the impact that our work has on their everyday lives. Spaces fill fast, so book your tour today over the phone (772-242-2293) or in person at the Ocean Discovery Visitors Center.

FAU Harbor Branch Public Tours

 

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“Bee Well” Health & Wellness Expo

Date: Event occurs every Friday of every month.

Time: All Day Event

Location: Port St. Lucie Community Center

Address: 2195 SW Airoso Blvd.

Price: free

Category: Health

Free Educational Workshops all day. For every 3 donated food items for Treasure Coast Food Bank receive a free raffle ticket & coupon for free appetizer at Texas Roadhouse. Storytime & character appearance for the kids.

http://www.teammirandastrong.org

 

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Farmers Market and Craft Show at the Fort Pierce Marina

St. Lucie County

Date: Event occurs every Saturday of every month.

Time: 8:00 am – 12:00 pm

Location: Downtown Fort Pierce

Address: 1 Avenue A – Fort Pierce

Category: Other

Come enjoy the extraordinary Downtown Fort Pierce Farmers’ Market where there are over 70 friendly vendors that offer a wonderful and diverse selection of delicious foods, exotic plants, savory spices, and much much more!

For More Information

 

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Guided Park Excursion: Hawk’s Bluff

Date: Sunday March 6, 2022

Time: 9:00 am – 11:00 am

Location: Savannas Preserve State Park Hawks Bluff

Address: Approximately 4698 NE Savannah Road, Jensen Beach, FL 34957

Price: $3/vehicle

Category: Educational

Traverse the park with a park naturalist as your guide! Hike approximately one mile of trails while experiencing the beautiful sights and sounds of the scrub habitat and freshwater marsh of the Hawks Bluff Trail at Savannas Preserve State Park. Reservations required. Free with paid park admission of $3 per vehicle. This location does not have a pay station on site. Please pre-pay for park admission by visiting the official Florida State Park website. The group will meet at 9 am at the Savannas Preserve State Park Hawks Bluff Trailhead located at approximately 4698 NE Savannah Road, Jensen Beach, Florida 34957.